The NCAA announced on Wednesday that it's working towards allowing student-athletes to earn money from their name, image, and likeness. As revealed on the NCAA official website, the board of governors expressed support for a rule change that will allow its athletes to receive compensation for third-party endorsements.
"Throughout our efforts to enhance support for college athletes, the NCAA has relied upon considerable feedback from and the engagement of our members, including numerous student-athletes, from all three divisions," board member and Ohio State president Michael V. Drake explained. "Allowing promotions and third-party endorsements is uncharted territory." Athletes will be able to use their own likeness for endorsements, but any use of the NCAA or their respective team's iconography or trademarks would be be forbidden.
It is expected that the new rules go into effect as of January 2021, just in time for the start of the 2021-22 academic year. The news comes after six months of discussions surrounding compensation for college athletes. Many states had put pressure on the league through bills that allowed athletes to be compensated.
The inability to gain additional income while playing for the NCAA has been a sore point for many young athletes, particularly when it comes to basketball and football. Just recently, it was announced that Jake Green, one of the top high school basketball prospects in the country, would skip college in favor of the NBA G League's professional pathway program.
And while some suggested that EA Sports' college football game series could make a return due to these impending changes, the recommendations do not take into consideration group licensing rights. It's also worth noting that these changes means that the cost to develop the game would be considerably higher than usual, as players would be paid if they were included.
